Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria
Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Anthropology and Museum Studies
Publication Date
7-31-2016
Abstract
“Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria” explores several overlapping historical relationships: between colonialism, postcolonialism, and photography; between the medium of photography and classic Benin Kingdom metal plaques and hip ornaments; and between photography as a mode of documenting and constituting interior domestic life and photography as a technology of royal ritual action. The exhibition emerges out of a collection of 3,000 images, including many glass plates and silver gelatin prints by Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge, the first official photographer to the royal court of Benin, now housed at the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at the National Museum of African Art. The photographs are juxtaposed with works drawn from the Museum's significant collection of classic Benin art.
Recommended Citation
Auslander, Mark. “Chief S.O. Alonge: Photographer to the Royal Court of Benin, Nigeria National Museum of African Art, Washington, DC September 17, 2014—July 31, 2016.” African Arts, vol. 49, no. 1, 2016, pp. 88–91, doi:10.1162/afar_r_00275.
Journal
African Arts
Rights
© 2016 by the Regents of the University of California.
Comments
This article was originally published in African Arts. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.